Tuesday's Edge: Law and Order: North Pole: Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer

In the criminal justice system, the people are represented by two separate yet equally important groups: the police who investigate crime, and the district attorneys who prosecute the offenders. These are their stories.

Scene I.Christmas Eve. A woman named Grandma, obviously intoxicated, wearing a silver and blue wig, stumbles out of a big house, heading for the street. Her grandson appears at the door, yelling for Grandma to come back, but she waves him off. She staggers off, disappearing around the corner. Moments later, there's a whooshing sound, then a loud thud. The boy, still at the doorway, peers off into the night. "Grandma?" he calls. There's no answer.

Scene II.Next morning. Snow falls on a suburban street, cordoned off with crime scene tape. Several police cars and an ambulance block the road, lights flashing. Detectives Briscoe and Logan stand over a body. It is Grandma. Briscoe sees something in the snow, bends over and picks up a silver and blue wig.

Briscoe: This case gets hairier by the minute.Logan: No tire tracks. Nobody saw a vehicle. And then there's those marks on her forehead... Briscoe:(Peering down) They look like ... hoof prints...

Scene III.Logan and Briscoe at Grandma's house, questioning the grandson in the living room. In the background, Grandpa sits in the kitchen playing cards with Cousin Mel, a woman in her 40s. There is a football game on the TV.

Briscoe: So, kid, you say you saw the car that hit Grandma?Kid: Not a car, a sleigh. Santa was driving. Grandma got run over by a reindeer.Logan and Briscoe exchange glances.Logan: Did you see it happen? Kid: No. She'd been drinkin' too much eggnog, and we begged her not to go. But she'd left her medication, so she stumbled out the door into the snow. I heard the crash, then I saw Santa in his sleigh, goin' real fast!

Schiff: I don't like it. There's no hard evidence. Briscoe: The autopsy report. Coroner says those are hoof prints on Grandma's forehead. Logan:(making air quotes) And "Claus marks" on her back.Schiff: That's the kid talking. The coroner never said "Claus marks." What does that even mean? There's no DNA. Tests were inconclusive. Briscoe: Kid swears he saw Santa come around the corner right after the old lady got smushed. Schiff:(Grimacing) Okay. Pick Santa up. The charge is vehicular homicide.